After redesigning the naira currency notes of higher denomination, the Nigerian government has extended the deadline for swapping old currency notes for newly designed ones.
The deadline has been extended by 10 days from the earlier deadline of 30th January, which the people were struggling to meet. Nigerians will now have to exchange the old banknotes till 10 February.
The old naira banknotes are being replaced at a time when Nigeria will witness presidential and parliamentary elections in the coming weeks.
According to local media, the banks do not contain enough new notes that has left people to struggle with withdrawal as well as exchange.
The government’s decision to come out with new designs of the currency notes has been condemned by analysts, according to whom the six-weeks deadline for replacement is not enough for a country with the highest population in Africa.
The Central Bank of Nigeria started releasing newly designed notes from December last year. However, people have complained of not receiving them at either banks or cash machines.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has intended to push people towards digital payments and not entirely depend on cash, according to reports.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and is heavily dependent on cash. This is even more severe in rural areas and those without banks. Many fear the push for new notes could disrupt business.
The reports also suggest that the central bank is making efforts to bring into the banking system a larger part of the cash hoarded by individuals and companies.
80% of the notes in circulation, according to the bank, were not deposited in banks when it announced in October that the 1,000 ($2.18), 500, and 200 naira notes would be replaced.
With the newly redesigned naira notes, the CBN also wishes to keep an eye on the money circulation happening in the economy to tackle inflation properly.
The extension of the deadline from January 30 came after Nigerian legislators and opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar had urged the central bank to do so. Abubakar said that the new deadline would help in “reducing the financial consequences for citizens”.
The bank also announced that the motive behind extending the deadline was that it will be more advantageous for the rural people to exchange money easily as they have limited access to banks.
The governor, Godwin Emefiele, also said that After that, Nigerians will have an additional seven days to deposit old currencies with the CBN directly.
